Online Master's Degree in GIS forSustainability Management

The Master of Geographic Information Systems for Sustainability Management online program at the University of Washington teaches you how to design a more sustainable world using GIS. This part-time, two-year professional program focuses on leveraging powerful GIS technologies to develop sustainable solutions to a variety of complex problems, ranging from affordable housing development to land use impacts on water quality improvement.

Digital data is growing exponentially today. But to become actionable, data needs to be analyzed in a broader context. In our program, you'll learn how to use GIS to create actionable knowledge that can help organizations make more informed decisions.

Specialize inSustainability Management

Geared to those who want to enter or advance in the GIS field, the UW Master of GIS is the only program of its kind to offer a focus in sustainability management. You'll use a systems approach for optimizing for sustainability that takes social, economic and environmental factors – so called triple bottom line concerns – into account.

Learn to use GIS to analyze and understand the various parts at play in a sustainable system – and how changes to any of the parts can affect the whole. A change in shipping routes might interfere with whale migrations, or a new highway might impact water quality through increases in runoff.

Enhance Your Career WithGIS Expertise

According to the United States Department of Labor, the market for geospatial technologies is growing by almost 35 percent a year, creating favorable career opportunities for those with GIS skills. The UW Master of GIS program helps you develop deep GIS expertise that can be beneficial in a variety of roles, particularly in GIS and sustainability management. In the program's final capstone project, you'll get valuable hands-on experience working on a sustainability-related GIS project for a community partner in the Puget Sound region.

Learn Online on Your Schedule

Designed for the working professional, the UW Master of GIS offers most of its courses online, so you can complete your degree from anywhere. Each summer, you will spend a short week of intensive study on the UW campus in Seattle, meeting with your cohort to develop project ideas, undertake advanced GIS work and deliver presentations. This hybrid model combines the flexibility of online learning with the richness of social learning through face-to-face interaction.